One of the individuals who attends my weekly men’s group is a felon. Well, likely more than one is a felon, but this man stands out. Not because he has gang-related tattoos, or an extensive arrest record, or substance abuse issues, or a history of domestic violence, or anything of that nature. He’s actually a quiet, peaceful man – but he’s a paperwork felon.
Matt and his family operated a federally-licensed firearms dealership, more colloquially known as a gun store or FFL. Under the Biden-Harris administration and the ATF’s “zero tolerance” policy, Matt’s FFL license was revoked, and under a settlement agreement, he had to close the business, accept a felony charge, and lost both his Second Amendment rights and his ability to support his family.
I’ve had many conversations with Matt, and even under the Trump administration he’s still discouraged and pessimistic about the restoration of his FFL license or gun rights. Even if his FFL was restored, his business is effectively dead – customers have gone elsewhere, he has no inventory, no business location, and no capital with which to build a business. He’s been unemployed for years, living off savings. The remainder of the proceedings from the sale of the business were burned in the legal fight which barely kept him out of jail. Matt’s story is similar to thousands of other family-owned FFLs around the country who were targeted by the weaponized ATF, and have yet to see justice or rights restored.
U.S. Gun Policy is Driven By A Global Agenda
Towards the end of 2024, just before the outcome of the general election in the United States we wrote two articles (here and here) that carefully dissected the disarmament efforts by American liberals looking to further the well-documented agendas proposed by global elites, namely to “discourage excessive and destabilizing accumulation of arms.” These are not conspiracy theories; they are agendas which these organizations have themselves publicly promoted. We have provided copious documentation and references to their own websites and publications.
As we noted in those articles, the globalists’ preferred tool in the United States to effect this agenda is the administrative state – the same unelected bureaucrats who have disarmed and stripped individuals like Matt and thousands of others of their God-given rights.
Although Matt’s story unfolded under the Biden-Harris administration, he is still completely disqualified from either running a business or owning firearms – by design. The Biden-era ATF policy exemplified this agenda by weaponizing minor errors against FFLs, creating de facto infringement that a new administration can pause – but not eliminate – without permanent reform. The cost of compliance becomes so high that it’s not worth the effort, leading to self-censorship among law-abiding owners and dealers.
Tolerance For What?
By way of reminder, the so-called “zero tolerance policy” as defined by the ATF was “a strategy announced in 2021 that set more stringent criteria for Industry Operations compliance inspections to identify licensees with certain qualifying violations.”
That is simply word salad to say that if the ATF could leverage paperwork errors (say a mis-dated form, transposed serial number, or incomplete record of sale) and gave itself the discretion and authority to shut down that business – even if that business had no pattern of such errors, evidence of straw sales, or any other questionable patterns.
The ATF couched the policy in the framework that it was looking for only “willful violations,” but the numbers tell a different story. “In addition to the license revocations, more than 1,480 FFLs chose to surrender their license and shut their business doors completely after facing pressure and the significant cost associated with fighting a revocation hearing at which ATF is judge and jury and where it’s almost unheard of for ATF to lose a hearing,” according to an article by the NSSF, which tracked these instances.
In April 2025, now under the Trump administration, the ATF issued a memo noting that, “As of today, this policy will be repealed, and Industry Operations inspections will no longer be held to these previously set guidelines.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t help Matt or thousands of other small, family-owned FFL businesses who suffered under the previous administration or perhaps just gave up due to the pressure of compliance. And importantly – critically important, in fact – neither does the repeal of this internal policy forego the possibility of it being revived under a new, anti-gun administration, which is virtually certain to come as the pendulum of political change swings more wildly with each election.
(A quick note that the federal government is not the only culpable entity when it comes to chilling rights. State-level tactics like New Jersey’s fee doubling, insurance mandates, and ‘sensitive locations’ carry restrictions put a spotlight on the playbook – pricing out the poor and risking felonies for errors.)
Republicans Slow-Walk Change
In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to protect the Second Amendment by assessing ongoing infringements and presenting a proposed plan of action. A year later, the plan has not been provided to the public, and although the DOJ has done some very notable and positive things under the Second Amendment Section of the Civil Rights Division led by Harmeet Dhillon, it has, at large, been very slow to move on Second Amendment issues and in many cases is still holding anti-Second Amendment postures as we have extensively tracked.
On February 10, just prior to a significant court case addressing a lifetime gun ban for non-violent felons before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department sent a letter to the court, showing that they had restored 2A rights to 22 individuals – at most a token sample. However, the DOJ proposed rule (issued on July 7, 2025) to apply for relief from disabilities to firearms ownership seems to have made little progress, and the DOJ estimates that when the program is rolled out, “one million people will apply for relief within the first year of the program,” suggesting that there will be a long wait for cases to be adjudicated.
Real-World Consequences: From Business Owners to Prohibited Persons
The American government is supposedly famous for its system of checks and balances, a principle that even grade school children are taught. However, the story above illustrates that the administrative state, due to its bloated nature, is able to undermine that system of checks and balances even to the point where constitutional rights become nonexistent – regardless of which political party holds power.
Internal directives and policy changes are as fragile as glass, easily smashed and overturned by the next administration, the shards of which can be used to further diminish our liberties through death by 1,000 cuts.
Matt’s story poignantly makes this case. After one year into a relatively gun-friendly administration, he still doesn’t see a realistic light at the end of the tunnel in a timeframe that would have a meaningful impact on his ability to run a business and support his family, or even be able to own firearms to protect his family.
Matt is not a criminal but a victim of intentional bureaucratic hurdles designed to erode both the ability and will to exercise one’s rights. The ATF policy was a textbook example of the indirect agenda warned about years ago – using bureaucracy to chill and disarm without legislation.
Call to Action – What Can We Do?
- Contact Your Members of Congress to Push for Permanent Legislative Safeguards
To be blunt most members of Congress (except for a rare few) don’t really care about the issues, they care about re-election. Contact your representative frequently by phone and be adamant. From the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act to the RIFLE Act, there are numerous pieces of legislation that a Republican-majority Congress can move forward to permanently safeguard our rights from the bureaucratic state. - Join and Participate in Pro-2A Advocacy Groups’ Action Campaigns
Not all gun groups are created equal, but we have a list of those we advocate for on our home page. Join them. The cost is as little as $35 per year (or your rights forever). The point here is that they have often already done 99% of the work for you. From pre-filled emails and forms to scripts you can read when you call your reps, all you have to do is take it over the finish line. - Organize or Participate in Collective Training to Send a Message
The Second Amendment itself IS the safeguard, and when all else fails (like peaceful political measures espoused above) your natural right to preservation is empowered through the possession and use of firearms. So, train like it is. We’ve been around long enough to know most people don’t train. They are complacent in their ownership of firearms, but if pressed to use them proficiently at a moment’s notice, they would wholly fail. We’ve written about collective training here as a means to encourage people to participate and hold each other accountable.
